Panang Chicken Curry (Kaeng Panang Gai)

Ingredients

• 400 mlcoconut milk, thick part used first, rest added later
• 1 1/2 tbsppanang curry paste, 1–2 tbsp; use store-bought or homemade (see below)
• 200 gchicken breast, sliced
• 100 gfrench beans, trimmed
• 2 1/2 tbspfish sauce, 2–3 tbsp; to taste
• 1 1/2 tbspbrown sugar, 1–2 tbsp; to taste
• 2 leafmakrut lime leaves, halved; half added during cooking, half for garnish
• thai basil leaves
• jasmine rice, steamed; to serve
• 6red chilli, for homemade paste; some sliced for garnish
• 4dried red chillies, for homemade paste
• 1 tspshrimp paste, for homemade paste
• 4 clovegarlic, chopped; for homemade paste
• 1 tbspgalangal, for homemade paste
• 1 tbsplemongrass, finely chopped; for homemade paste
• 2lime, zest only; for homemade paste
• 1 tspground nutmeg, for homemade paste
• 1 tspground coriander, for homemade paste
• 1 tspground cumin, for homemade paste
• 2 tbsppeanuts, for homemade paste
• white pepper, for homemade paste

Method

1. 1

   To make the curry paste, use a pestle and mortar to pound together the dried and fresh chillies, shrimp paste, garlic, galangal, lemongrass, lime zest, white pepper, ground coriander, cumin, nutmeg and peanuts with 1 tsp salt until you have a rough paste. Alternatively, pulse everything in a food processor with 2–3 tbsp coconut milk.

2. 2

   Add 2–3 tbsp of the thick part of the coconut milk to a saucepan over medium-high heat. When it starts to bubble, add 1–2 tbsp of the curry paste and stir well for about 1 minute until fragrant.

3. 3

   Stir in the chicken and cook for 3–4 minutes until beginning to brown all over. Add the French beans and stir well.

4. 4

   Season with fish sauce and sugar, then add the remaining coconut milk. Add half the makrut lime leaves and simmer for 3–5 minutes until the chicken is cooked through. Taste and adjust seasoning — it should be salty, nutty and lightly sweet.

5. 5

   Add the Thai basil leaves, stir briefly and remove from heat. Serve over jasmine rice, garnished with sliced red chilli and the remaining makrut lime leaves.